SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 25, 2008

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Happy First Birthday, Google Bomb Fix!
  Short by sweet — one year ago today, a momentous event that must be recalled. Google bombing was defused. George W. Bush was no longer a miserable failure and other mass link bombing attempts stopped working. For the most part, the Google bombing fix that Google put into place seems…
• Search in Pictures: Google Cake, Banana Room, Kate Nash @ Yahoo
  In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more….
• Doerr And Moritz: A Tale Of Two (Very Wealthy) Google Investors
  Forbes offers an interesting profile, “The Golden Touch,” of two of Google’s initial VC investors John Doerr and Michael Moritz. Both of these men got fabulously rich off their Google shares: “Their personal gains, according to Forbes’ estimates, are likely north of $800 million apiece.” Moritz has kept his stock…
• Microsoft Earnings Soar, Gates Calls For More Help To Poor
  Microsoft issued fiscal Q2 earnings yesterday and simply crushed estimates. The company had quarterly revenues of more than $16 billion, which exceeded the highest previous quarterly earnings mark by a whopping $2 billion (the earnings release is here.) Profits were $4.71 billion….
• New: Real-Time Google Maps Edits In New Edits Viewer
  The Google LatLong blog announced a neat new feature that lets you sit back and watch the edits made to Google Maps in a live viewer. To view recent edits made to Google Maps, just go here and watch. I made a quick video of the page, and as you…
• Will Google Suffer In A Recession?
  According to statements made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland yesterday the answer to that question appears to be “no.” The Financial Times reports the view of several tier-two Google execs who expressed confidence in the continuing growth of the company’s revenues and the success of its model….
• Google AdWords Won’t Allow Personal Attacks On Politicians
  The Google Public Policy blog announced new policies for how you can use AdWords in the political debate space. Google AdWords requires politicians to comply with the editorial guidelines you can campaign for any political view, you can ask for donations if you are a non-tax-deductible organization and you cannot…
• Survey Says: Search Right Behind Email Marketing In Best-Performing Category
  The 2nd Annual Marketing & Media Survey from Datran Media was released and it showed that the second best-performing online ad medium is search, right behind email marketing. In December, Datran asked 2,000 industry leaders “which advertising media buys perform strongly for your company”? 80% said email marketing but right…
• Google Domain Park To Cease Ads On Domain Tasting Sites
  Google to kill Domain Tasting from Domain Tolls reports receiving a tip from a Google informant that Google will be preventing “domain tasting” from participating in the AdSense for Domains (aka Domain Park) program. Domain tasting is the practice of trying out a domain name for a 5 day-period. Registration…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Docs Uploader, Google Operating System
• We can’t stop adding features!, Official Google Docs Blog

Business Issues

• Baidu leads China Web search market in Q4, Reuters
• Battelle Turns Down $100 Million Offer For FM Publishing. Decides To Shop Around For a Higher Price., TechCrunch
• Google reportedly mulls ’server farm’ in Malaysia, India or Vietnam, MarketWatch
• IAC, Liberty Wage Two-Way Legal Battle, Wall Street Journal
• Rumor: China Yahoo To Name New President, Pacific Epoch
• Yahoo Shuns Potential Suitors, Seeking Alpha
• Ask Searches for Answer to Luring New Users, Wall Street Journal

Conferences

• SMX West 2008 Discount Coupon, Google Analytics Blog
• SMX West: Search Marketing Expo West, Facebook
• Why Jason Calacanis For a Third Time at SES?, Search Marketing Gurus

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Top bids $2.4 bln as wireless auction opens, Reuters
• Citysearch & InsiderPages reviews are now back in Google, Mike Blumenthal
• Google CEO bullish on mobile Web advertising, Reuters
• Guys Fly Balloon to 30 km Altitude – See it in Google Earth, Google Earth Blog
• Mobile Local Search: A Perfect Storm, Search Engine Watch
• Panoramio Layer Adds 2 Million Photos, Google Earth Blog

Link Building

• Prisoners of War in the Battle for Paid Links, Wolf Howl
• Does Google Penalize Too Many Footer Links?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Link Building For Search When Google Does Not Exist, Search Engine Journal

Paid Search & Contextual

• AdSense in fashion for those who wear many hats, Inside AdSense
• Yahoo! Dumps Brand Universes, AdWeek
• Google Content Network Tips: Optimizing for a content network audience, Inside AdWords
• Study: Search Marketing In Prime Spot To Play Major Role in Political Spending, SEM Geek
• Three More Conversion Optimizer Webinars, Inside AdWords
• Find Top Paying Keywords for Google AdSense, SEO Book
• How Do You Solve A Problem Like adCenter Account Structure?, adCenter Blog
• Yahoo Search Marketing Max Keyword Limits, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• "Visual Search" and Apple’s Cover Flow, Screenwerk
• The history of Fast Search & Transfer, Pandia

SEM Industry

• What if SEO & Search Had Action Figures, North South Media
• Avoiding the well known #4 SERP-hero-penalty…, sebastians-pamphlets.com

SEO & SEM

• Mahalo Traffic Growth Vulnerable To Google Penalty, Natural Search Blog
• Modern SEO as Competitive Webmastering, John Andrews
• Redirects: Permanent 301 vs. Temporary 302, Stepforth
• Are you breaking Google’s rules?, E-Consultancy
• Google’s "Scalable" Solution, JLH Design
• Search Ranking for Tech Support , Search Engine Journal
• SEO Company Using Generic Letter from Google to Attract New Clients, Search Engine Roundtable
• Whiteboard Friday – How Search Engines Work, SEOmoz
• Five Strategic Steps for the Modern SEO, Stone Temple
• Win the Right Search Marketing Clients – Part 2, Search Engine Watch
• Your Google reputation could cost you a job, globeandmail.com

Social Media

• Digg CEO Jay Adelson’s Take on the So-Called "Revolt", Wired
• Digg’s $300m Mistake? – Reputation Management, ViperChill
• Social Media Celebrity Endorsements, Brisbane SEO Blog
• Every Social Network is Different for News Consumption, Techipedia

Video, Music & Image Search

• Hulu Discusses Private Beta, Suggests Public Launch Time Frame, TechCrunch
• Political Platforms Launch in the U.K. and Spain, YouTube Blog

Web Analytics

• Microsoft Patent Filing Reveals Ideas to Monitor Offline Behavior for Advertising Purposes, Search Engine Journal

Other Items

• Google doodle joins ranks of Australia Day celebrations, Reuters

Last 20 Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

• Votrs.com Member’s System Enters Private Beta
• Think You’re Successfully Flying Under Google’s Radar? Think Again.
• How Would You Build Links If Google Did Not Exist?
• Protect Yourself and Your Customers with this Professional SEO Contract
• Prisoners of War in the Battle for Paid Links
• Social Media: A Lateral Approach to Marketing
• Digg: Timeline of a User Revolt
• Google’s Position 6 Penalty
• Social Media Celebrity Endorsements
• 26 Reasons Why I Love Twitter
• Huge News: Google to Kill ‘Domain Tasting’ Adsense
• PubCon Questions answered by google Webmaster Central
• What if Search Had Action Heros – Who Would Be Which?
• Does SEO have an image problem?
• Rand Fishkin & Andy Hagans No Bullshit Guide to Startup CEO’s
• The Basics of Content Generation: Methods, Coherrence, and Unique Content
• The SEMMYS Finalists Are Ready
• Learning SEO Tidbits: Did you know?
• Why Jason Calacanis For a Third Time at SES?
• Craig Newmark: “SEO is more ethical and less obtrusive…”
• Apparently Someone At Google Has A Twisted Sense of Humor
• Matt Cutts, Why Am I Still Being Punished?
• Chinese Search Engine Baidu Turns Japanese
• SEM’s Midlife Crisis
• Interview with Social Media Hotshot, ViperChill